Don Cheadle to film Miles Davis biography here

Ten days after Cate Blanchett finished "Carol," the Greater Cincinnati & Northern Kentucky Film Commission announced that Don Cheadle will star as iconic jazz innovator Miles Davis in a movie filming here in July.

Cheadle ("House of Lies," "Iron Man 2," "Iron Man 3") also will direct and produce "Miles Ahead" from a script he wrote with Steven Baigelman.

Local musicians and actors will be needed for the movie about trumpeter Davis, a major jazz figure in the bebop, cool jazz and jazz fusion movements in the 20th century.

Davis, who died in 1991 at age 65, played with most of the jazz giants of his era: Charlie Parker, John Coltrane, Chick Corea, Coleman Hawkins, Horace Silver, Sonny Rollins, Cannonball Adderley, Bill Evans, Wayne Shorter, Herbie Hancock, Ron Carter, Eddie "Lockjaw" Davis and Art Blakey.

"Miles Ahead," about the life and music of Davis, will be filmed "entirely in Greater Cincinnati in the coming months," said Kristen Erwin Schlotman, film commission executive director.

"We look forward to exploring the culture, musicians and backdrop of this city. We are hoping to work closely with the community to bring this project to (the) screen," said Cheadle in the film commission release today.

When Davis was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 2006, biographer Ashley Kahn called Davis visionary, "eternal modernist" and "a force of nature."

"With an ear that disregarded categories of style, he sought out new musical worlds, and generations followed in his footsteps. While the creative rush and experimental charge that come to most musicians in youth eventually run down, Davis held an exploratory edge for most of his 65 years. It had to be fresh, or forget it," Kahn wrote.

Cheadle, 49, also an accomplished songwriter and saxophonist, was nominated for a 2004 Grammy Award, in addition to his one Oscar nomination ("Hotel Rwanda" in 2005) and six Emmy nominations.

Zoe Saldana (NBC's "Rosemary's Baby," "Avatar") and Ewan McGregor (Obi-Wan Kenobi from "Star Wars") also will star in the film.

"Miles Ahead" will be the fifth motion picture to shoot in the area using Ohio filmmakers' tax incentives, Schlotman said.

It's at least the fifth time Cincinnati will be used to portray New York City, as it did for Blanchett's "Carol," "A Rage in Harlem" (1990), "The Public Eye" (1991) and "Lost in Yonkers" (1992).

"This is what we set out to do: Create a production ecosystem in Greater Cincinnati that not only impacts our workforce and economy, but also enhances our culture and community," Schlotman said in the announcement. "We intend to roll out the red carpet and help Cheadle and team make this incredible story."

"Cincinnati has a lot to offer and we are excited to be here," said producer Pam Hirsch in the release. After a "long and thoughtful process," producers "landed on Cincinnati because of the attention and total cooperation of the film commission, the state's film incentive, the locations and the goodwill of the people."

Musicians, extras, crew wanted

Here is information for those interested in working on or appearing in the film: